WORKERS DECLARE STRIKE OVER PENSION CASH

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Baring any hitch, the amalgamation of associations within the health sector, education, judiciary and civil service are embarking on indefinite strike from today.

Their reason is that attempts to get the government to release the 2^nd Tier Pension funds has fallen on deaf ears and it was only industrial action that could compel the government to meet their grievances.

The government has refused to release the second tier pension funds to fund managers selected by the associations but rather government want them to register with a particular fund manager which is against the new pension law.

Under the new pension law SSNIT gets 13.5per cent from contributors while 5 per cent goes to the second tier operators to be managed for the contributors.

This arrangement took effect from 2010 but up till not a dime had been paid to fund managers under the second tier scheme making the public sector workers to issue the strike declaration.

Rainbow

The associations which has formed what is now known as Forum for Public Sector Registered Pension Schemes were represented from the health sector by Health Service Workers Union (HSWU), Ghana Registered Nurses’ Association (GRNA), Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana Physician Assistants (GPAA), Government and Hospitals Pharmacists’ Association (GHOSPA) as well as Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anesthetists (GRCRA) forming the Health Sector Occupational Pension Scheme.

In the education sector, the Ghana Education Service (GES) Occupational Scheme was represented by Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT).

The Judicial Services Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) represented the Judicial Service Occupational Pension Scheme while Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG) which brought in the Hedge Master Trust Occupational Pension Scheme completed the formation of the forum.

Emerging Issues

At a heavily attended news conference in Accra yesterday, the associations unanimously endorsed the strike action and vowed not to return to work until their demands were met.

Reynolds O. Tenkorang, Acting General Secretary of Health Service Workers Union who read the joint statement said the first batch of beneficiaries under the new National Pension Act 2008 (Act 766) who are due for retirement by January next year “are in the dark as to where to claim the 2^nd Tier benefits.”

Pension Alliance Trust

According to the forum, they have already rejected the imposition of a Pension Alliance Trust planned by the government and pointed out that in 2012 when the forum met President John Mahama, they made it clear that a letter issued by the government through the Finance Minister imposing the trust was uncalled for since it had been unilaterally done by the government.

Mr. Tenkorang said the forum insisted that the government had a duty to allow what he called “full operationalization of the Public Sector Pension Scheme.”

He said since 2009, organized labour has been agitating for improved pension for worker and the issues raised during 2013 and 2014 May Day celebration attested to the fact that the unions had the right to actively participate in the management of the 2^nd Tier Pension Scheme and wanted issues that cause the delay in implementation resolved without delay.

“In our quest to seek an amicable solution settlement, we appealed to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises. This was closely followed by a letter to the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations for an intervention to avoid an escalation of the tension that was building,” Mr. Tenkorang said.

President’s committee

He also said that the forum had ‘countless’ meetings with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) as well as other ‘numerous official and unofficial’ meetings with the sector minister but to no avail and added that they granted followed up to the President in July to urge him to find lasting solution to the problem.

They said President Mahama subsequently set up a committee to investigate the emerging issues and submit recommendations within three days but the report has been submitted without any official action.

The Declaration

“The forum having gone through the processes and waited for this long period, have decided to use the only means available to us to seek redress of our grievances. We have collectively decided to embark on an indefinite strike action with effect from Wednesday October 22, 2014, to press home our demand of getting the government to release the funds accruing to our schemes and subsequent releases, to make the public sector scheme operational without delay,” he said.

During questions and answers, Isaac Bampoe Addo, Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG said “we are not seeking to manage the funds. The law is clear that it should be managed by firms licensed by the NPRA.”

He said “we can assure you that this strike is going to be effective. We have come to this because it is the government that is being lawless by going against the very law passed by Parliament.”